Associations between Mental Well-being and Personality from a Life Span Perspective

Abstract

The associations between personality traits and mental well-being are analyzed using data from the Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development (initial N = 369; 53% males). At ages 33/36 to 50, the NEO-PI and Scales of Psychological and Social Well-Being as well as indicators of emotional well-being were administered. At ages 8 and 14, socioemotional behaviors were assessed by teachers. First, both genders show high relative continuity in the Big Five personality traits and mental well-being during mid-adulthood. Second, the developmental course of neuroticism and extraversion during mid-adulthood is similar to that of psychological well-being: over 80% of the participants low in neuroticism or high in extraversion are high in psychological well-being. Third, early behavioral activity precedes mental well-being and extraversion.